Apparently, there is plenty of butt-hurt to go around in the Senate Republican Caucus, after a rump of moderates and neo-conservatives bonded together to preserve the filibuster, but sold out the conservative effort to permanently weaken the Consumer Financial Protection Agency and the National Labor Relations Board. Most of them are also pissed off that another Latino will head the Labor Department, although they pretend it is about a lack of responsiveness to some House subpoena.
A meeting of Senate Republicans on Wednesday grew tense as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told his members he could have gotten a better deal on nominations than the one negotiated by rank-and-file Republicans.
McConnell’s tone, according to multiple sources, implied that he had been kept in the dark about the talks between some in his own ranks and Democrats. However, those same Republicans say they kept McConnell updated throughout their negotiating process.
Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., got so frustrated with McConnell’s presentation of events, that he called “bullshit” loud enough for the room to hear, nearly a half-dozen sources said.
Needless to say, the House Republican Caucus, which actually has chairmen on committees, was relying on the Senate’s obstruction on labor and consumer issues, and they will now be forced to deal with a harsher reality.
